Afghan & Pakistani border force location (map)

As operations in Afghanistan escalate, we are also witnessing a surge in activity across the border in the remote tribal areas of Pakistan.  A flurry of surgical drone strikes targeting senior Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders on the Afghan-Pakistan border demonstrates the importance of dismantling enemy networks such as the Haqqani Network as part of ISAF’s overall strategy. Available to the public for the first time, ISW has released a new map of the Afghan/Pakistan border that details visually the disposition of ISAF troops, Pakistani military forces and the Frontier Corps. 

In Afghanistan, the full force of ISAF’s counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy is now in effect as the entire “Surge” forces have finally arrived in country. These soldiers and Marines are moving along a number of fronts to secure strategic positions across the theater of war.

Last week, ISW held an “Evaluating Afghanistan” event which featured ISW scholars, Jeff Dressler and Carl Forsberg, who recently returned from Afghanistan. The event also included a special guest: former U.S. Marine Special Operations Captain, Adam Potter. This timely event provided an update with regards to the “on-the-ground realities” in Afghanistan and a description of ISAF missions in Kandahar, Helmand, and Farah provinces. If you missed this Afghanistan event, you can watch the video on our website today.

Afghan elections held last week went relatively smoothly, despite some violence and accusations of fraud. Indications of a government electoral review are seen as a positive move by Kabul.  Challenges remain however, especially as the controversies around President Karzai’s family continue.  Watch ISW analyst Carl Forsberg discuss the latest developments on CNN’s The Situation Room.

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Very respectfully,

The Institute for the Study of War